Animal Health News Summer 2011

Veterinary News from the North Dakota State Board of Animal Health

Several bills of interest to the Board of Animal Health were passed by the 2011 North Dakota Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jack Dalrymple.

• SB2009, theNorthDakotaDepartment ofAgriculture budget, includedadditional funds for the Reserve Veterinary Corps and the Johne’s disease control program.

• SB2128,introducedbySen.BillBowman,createsasmallfundtoreimburseproducers for serious injury or death of livestock resulting from state-man-dated disease testing.

• SB2341makesminorchanges to thestate’sVeterinaryLoanRepaymentProgram by allowing funds to be reallocated if a veterinarian leaves the program.

• SB2088allowsveterinarianstofillprescriptionsissuedbyotherveterinar-ians.

•SB2080allowspersonsotherthanveterinariansandpharmaciststodispenseprescription veterinary drugs by becoming licensed as a “veterinary retail dispensing facility.”

• SB2227relates todeerdepredationofstored feedand theNorthDakotaGame and Fish Department deer-proof hay yard program.

Oneprominentbillthatdidnotpass,SB2365,wasintendedtostrengthenthelaw relating to the inhumane treatment of animals. The bill contained many changestotheexistinglanguage,causingconcerntostakeholdergroups.Thislaw,N.D.CenturyCode36-21.1,willberewrittenduringthelegislativeinterimto update language and improve clarity. This issue will likely be revisited in a future session.

Anotherbillthatfailed,SB2303,wouldhaveaddeda10thmembertotheStateBoard of Animal Health to represent the feeder industry.

New memberInAugust,2010,Gov.JohnHoevenappointed Dave Pearson of Hettinger to succeed Paula Swenson as the sheep industry representative on the State Board of Animal Health.

Name change Ifyoucallourofficeandhearsome-one announce “Animal Health Divi-sion,”don’tbealarmed.Theofficeof the State Board of Animal Health is now referred to as the “Animal Health Division of the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.”

Next meeting The next meeting of the State Board ofAnimalHealthisscheduledfor9a.m.,Wednesday,Sept.7,intheStateCapitol in Bismarck.

E-mail updates In response to veterinarian requests for timely information regarding diseasesituations,theBOAHisnowoffering periodic e-mail updates. To getonthelist,sendane-mailtotcel-ley@nd.gov,orcall(701)328-2655.

Board News

ND veterinariansto meet in Fargo

The 2011 convention of the North Dakota Veterinary Medi-cal Association will be held Aug.14-16attheRamadaInnin Fargo.

Check the NDVMA website at www.ndvma.com for details.

Legislators tackle animal concerns

Information on rabies vaccination available‘Tis the season for rabid skunks and raccoons – several positive cases have been reported this spring.

Rabies vaccination must be administered according to label directions. Any deviation from label directions and from the recommendations in the Compen-dium of Animal Rabies Control from the National Association of Public Health Veterinariansmaybeillegal.Thecompletedocument,includingrecommen-dations for animals that have been exposed to a rabid animal can be found at www.nasphv.org/Documents/RabiesCompendium.pdf.

TheCentersforDiseaseControlandPreventionhasextensiveandspecificinformationforveterinariansontheirwebsite:www.cdc.gov/rabies/specific_groups/veterinarians/index.html.

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Notes From the FieldBy Justin Maddock

Thishasbeenadifficultyeartobeamanontheroadasmostofthemhavebeencoveredbysnowallwinter,andwaterallspring.Idefinitelyhavelearnedtoplanmyroutes.Sofarthisyear,IhavebeentoeverycornerofNorthDakotafromBowmantoGrandForks,andWillistontoFargo.

Ihavebeenbusy,unfortunately,withabout14inves-tigations of inhumane treatment of animals this year. This part of the job is both frustrating and gratifying. Ihaveinspectedmalnourishedcowsandhorses,aswellasabusedpets.Inseveralcases,weworkedwith law enforcement to take action. Animals have beenremoved,andchargeshavebeenfiledinsomecases.Moreoften,managementrecommendationsare made with follow-ups to ensure that conditions improve.Wehopeweimprovelifefortheanimalsweinspect,andthattheownerslearnthatiftheyfailtocareforanimalsintheirkeep,thereareconse-quences.

IhaveinspectedsalebarnsinWilliston,Minot,Rugby,DevilsLake,WestFargo,Jamestown,Napo-leon,Edgeley,Linton,Bismarck,Mandan,Dickinsonand Bowman. This leaves only two more to take a look at this spring. The sale barns have had good news and bad news all year. The good news is the price of cattle and where things look to be headed and the bad news is the weather and its never ending moisture. A lot of the sale barns thisspringhavehadadifficulttimegettingintopenstokeepthingsclean,buthopefully with warmer weather and drier ground conditions will improve.

AnimalsarebroughtintoNorthDakotaatmanyevents,andItrytobepresentat as many of them as I can. This is to assist these events to ensure that these out of state animals have met North Dakota’s importation requirements. There havebeenaround14eventsthatIhavebeenpresentatsofarthisyear.Compli-ancehasbeengoodforthemostpart,buteverynowandthenpeopleneedalittle education on requirements for bringing animals into the state legally. Since beginningthispositioninthefallof2009,IhavedefinitelyseenanincreaseinawarenessoftheBoardofAnimalHealth’srequirements.Eventmanagershave started to expect that out-of-state animals will be checked and compliance seems to have increased.

Ihavealsospenttimeonconductingmodifiedlivevaccine(MLV)salesin-spections,ageandsourceverificationauditingforNorthDakotaVerifiedBeef,inspectingnon-traditionallivestockfacilities,attendingEmergencyServicessheltering meetings and assisting will illegal importation investigations.

JustinMaddockistheBoardofAnimalHealthlivestockfieldinvestigator.Justin is based out of his home near Maddock and travels throughout the state helping enforce animal importation requirements. He also assists with variousotherdutiessuchasmarketinspections,non-traditionallivestockinspections,inhumanetreatmentcomplaints,andmanyothers.

Two programs help repay student loansTwo programs are available to help veterinarians repay student loans.

The North Dakota Veterinary Loan Repayment Program provides up to $80,000towardsstudentloanrepay-ment over four years to veterinarians who provide food animal services in rural areas of the state. The State HealthCouncilselectsveterinarians,nominated by the State Board of Ani-malHealth,fortheprogram.

Ten of the 12 veterinarians who have receivedfundssince2008stillpro-vide veterinary service to the commu-nityforwhichtheywereselected,andseveral own or co-own their practice.

The federal Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program is ad-ministered by the National Institute for Food and Agriculture.

Veterinarians can apply to receive upto$75,000towardsstudentloanrepayment over three years in return for providing food animal services.

Veterinarians who will provide ser-vice in designated “veterinary short-age areas” can apply. Applications are reviewed by a national committee. One veterinarian in North Dakota has been selected for this program.

For more information about either program,contacttheNorthDakotaStateBoardofAnimalHealthat(701)328-2655.

Diagnostic lab newsThe North Dakota State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory now offers PCR testing for anaplas-mosis.Thepriceis$35persample,plusa$7caseaccessionfee.Theonly specimen that can be used is an EDTAbloodsample,whichcanbefrozen.ThetestissetuponWednes-days and Fridays with same-day turnaround. Contact the laboratory for more information.

Justin Maddock

3Animal Health News

Disease updatesReportable diseasesNorth Dakota’s reportable disease list is available at www.agdepartment.com/Programs/Livestock/BOAH/Reporta-bleDiseaseList.pdf.

AnthraxWeatherconditionswilllikelybeoptimalforanthraxthisyear. Producers across the state should check their live-stock frequently for any unusual death loss. It is not too late to vaccinate animals; immunity from anthrax vaccina-tion is rapid. Producers are urged to discuss vaccination protocols with their local veterinarian.

BrucellosisAll50statesarenowconsideredfreeofbrucellosisindo-mestic animals. Because of brucellosis in wildlife popula-tionsoftheGreaterYellowstonearea,NorthDakotastillrequires brucellosis testing prior to importation for animals fromcertainareasinMontana,Wyoming,andIdaho.Test-ing is also required for all cattle from Texas. Check www.agdepartment.com/Programs/Livestock/BOAH/BOAH.htmlorcall(701)328-2655formoredetails.

BSEOngoing surveillance in North Dakota for bovine spongi-form encephalopathy focuses on cattle exhibiting signs of central nervous disorders and other signs that may be as-sociatedwithBSE,suchasemaciationorinjury,aswellasdead cattle and non-ambulatory animals. Producers should contactDr.LarrySchuler,thefederalarea-veterinarian-in-chargeat701-250-4210iftheyhaveananimal(s)thatmeets surveillance guidelines.

CWDSince1998,morethan8,700farmeddeerandelkhavebeen tested for chronic wasting disease in North Dakota. No samples have tested positive for the disease. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has tested more than 22,000wilddeerandelk.InMarchof2010,thefirstcaseofCWDinNorthDakotawildlifewasidentifiedinanadultbuck.Itwasoneofmorethan3,000animalssampledaspartofthe2009CWDsurveillance.ThisbuckwastakeninsouthwesternSiouxCounty.Inthefallof2010,anotherpositivesamplewasidentifiedinadoefromthesame area. The Game and Fish Department continues to target this area for increased surveillance.

RabiesIn2010,23casesofrabieswerereportedinNorthDakota.Positiveanimalsincluded10skunks,fourcattle,fourcats,twodogs,twobats,andabadger.

Equine herpes virus Equineherpesvirus(EHV-1)infectioninhorsescancauserespiratorydisease,abortion,neonatalfoaldeath,and/orneurologicdisease.TheneurologicformofEHV-1iscalledequineherpesvirusmyeloencephalopathy(EHM).

Theviruscanspreadthroughtheair,contaminatedequip-ment,clothingandhands.EHV-1isnotuncommonintheU.S.,butrecentcasesinhorsesthatattendedtheNationalCuttingHorseAssociationWesternNationalChampion-ship,April29-May8,inOgden,UT,haveelevatedconcernabout the disease. No horses in North Dakota attended this event,andnohorsesinthestateareknownorsuspectedtobeinfectedatthistime.Moreinformation,includingweeklysituationupdates,isavailableat:www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/nahss/equine/ehv/.

TrichomoniasisMost western states now have regulations regarding trichomoniasis.Inmoststates,regulationsonlyapplytomature bulls; but some states have regulations on young bulls as well as breeding females. Some states require tests for intrastate movement as well as interstate movements. Although there has been discussion among the states onstandardizingrequirements,noconsensushasbeenreached.NorthDakotarequiresthatpriortoimportation,allnon-virginbullsandanybullover24monthsofagetestnegative to one PCR trich test or three consecutive weekly cultures.Exemptionsmaybemadeforexhibition,seasonalgrazing with no comingling and for movement to and from semen collection facilities. There is no exemption for bulls intended for feeding.

Foreign animal diseaseBecause funding for the Animal Health Monitoring System-Foreign Animal Disease grant cooperative agree-mentfromUSDA-APHIS-VSisreduced,thestateislessabletohelpfinanciallywithunusualdiseaseinvestiga-tions. Practitioners are urged to contact either the state veterinarian or the federal area-veterinarian-in-charge if theyseeanythingunusual,especiallyanyvesicularlesions,that looks like a potential foreign animal disease or other reportable disease.

4 Animal Health News

Animal Health Newsis published by

The NorTh DakoTaSTaTe BoarD of aNimal healTh

Melvin Leland, Sidney, MT President

Dr. William Tidball, BeachSecretary

Nathan Boehm, MandanDr. Morgan Dallman, BeulahDaryl Dukart, Dunn Center

Joel Olson, AlmontDave Pearson, Hettinger

Shawn Schafer, Turtle LakeDr. Kenneth Throlson, New Rockford

The NorTh DakoTa DeparTmeNT of agriculTure

Doug GoehringAgriculture Commissioner

Dr. Susan KellerState Veterinarianskeller@nd.gov

Dr. Beth CarlsonDeputy State Veterinarian

bwcarlson@nd.gov

Dr. Jesse VollmerAssistant State Veterinarian

jlvollmer@nd.gov

Please send all correspondenceto the State VeterinarianAnimal Health Division

N.D. Department of Agriculture600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602

Bismarck, ND 58505-0020PH: (701) 328-2655

(800) 242-7535Fax: (701) 328-1870

www.agdepartment.com/Programs/Livestock/BOAH/BOAH.html

Ted Quanrud, Editortquanrud@nd.gov

Alert: Tularemia found in ND horseTularemia has been diagnosed recently in a horse in east-central North Dakota. Ratheruncommoninhorses,thediseasehasbeenfoundincatsinthewesternpart of the state in past years. tularemia is a mandatory reportable disease in North Dakota.

Avector-borne,zoonoticdisease,tularemiacanbecarriedbyticks,horseflies,mosquitoes,suckingliceandbitingflies.Thebacteriacanalsobetransmittedthrough scratches and cuts that are exposed to infected animal tissues and by ingestion of infected tissues or contaminated water or inhalation of aerosolized particles. Sheep and cats have historically been a source of infection for humans. The disease is common in wild rodents and rabbits.

Clinicalsymptomsinhorsesincludefever,dyspnea,incoordination,anddepres-sion. Cases in affected horses are associated with extensive tick infestation.

Domestic cats infected with F. tularensismayexhibitfever,depression,lymph-adenopathy,abscesses,oralorlingualulceration,gastroenteritis,hepatomegaly,splenomegaly,icterus,anorexia,weightloss,pneumonia,andsepsis.

Formoreinformationontularemia,seewww.avma.org/public_health/biosecu-rity/tularemia_facts.asp#prevention.

WorkunderwayonTB-brucellosisplanThe comment period for USDA’s proposed bovine tuberculosis and brucel-losisregulatoryframeworkclosedJuly5.USDAplanstopublishthepro-posalinFY2011withthefinalruletobeissuedinFY2012.

DevelopedbyaVeterinaryServicesworkinggroup,theframeworkconsistsof eight interrelated elements that form a single rule for both diseases to ensureconsistency,increaseflexibilityandreduceadministrativecosts.

Theelementsareprogram(state)requirements,zoning,surveillance,affect-edherdmanagementandepidemiologicalinvestigations,indemnity,inter-statemovementcontrols,importationrequirementsandapprovalproceduresrelatedtoofficialtestsandlaboratories.

Writingoftheregulatorytextwillbeginafterthecommentperiod.Theeradication of both bovine TB and brucellosis is the overall goal of the proposed framework. The current program is acknowledged to be better at managingthediseasesatlowlevelsratherthaneradicatingthem,tobepuni-tiveonstatesandtheindustry,andneedingchangetoaccountforreducednational funding.

The framework does not detail how the programs will work in practice. Separate performance standards for bovine TB and brucellosis will be estab-lished.

Toreadthedraftframework,seewww.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/tb_bruc/downloads/tb_bruc_framework.pdf.

Toreviewsubmittedcomments,seewww.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0044.

5Animal Health News

Program updatesEquine herpesvirusBecauseofconcernsaboutequineherpsevirus(EHV-1),acertificateofveterinaryinspectionisnowrequiredforallhorses entering North Dakota for any length of time.

The exemption for horses entering the state for less than seven days has been suspended.

Official identificationRemovingofficialidentificationfromlivestockisaviola-tion of federal law. Any incident of persons removing USDAorCanadianeartags(includingbarcodeandRFIDtags),shouldbereportedtoDr.LarrySchuler,thefederalarea-veterinarian-in-charge,orDr.SusanKeller,thestateveterinarian.

Johne’s disease Thanks to the efforts of North Dakota’s beef and dairy industrygroupsduringthepasttwolegislativesessions,funding is available for testing assistance through the Vol-untary Bovine Johne’s Disease Control Program.

Testing assistance reimbursement has been relatively consistentforthelast18to20months.Thereimbursementrateis$150forcompletingtheriskassessment.Anagree-ment form must be completed each year along with the riskassessment.TheproducermusthaveaW-9formwithcompletenameandaddressonfilewiththeoffice.

Paperwork has not been completed for a considerable number of herds that have been tested. Producers who complete the testing will not be reimbursed until their veterinarians submit the required paperwork.

Fecalpooledculturesarereimbursedat$40perpool.Veterinarians should send in individual samples; the lab willdothepoolingingroupsoffive.Thelabwillsplitanypositive pools to determine which animal from the pool ispositive.Whenapoolispositive,thelabchargesanadditional$15persample,or$75perpositivepool,whichis not reimbursed. If fecal samples are sent in for test-ingandpoolingisnotdesired,“individualtests”shouldbestatedonthetestcharts.Thelabwill,bydefault,poolsamplesunlessotherwisespecified.Whenindividualfecalpolymerasechainreaction(PCR)testsarerunforeitherconfirmationofanELISAorasaprimarytest,testingisreimbursedat$15persample.Again,confirmationtestingof individual animals from positive pools is not eligible for reimbursement.

SerumandmilkELISAtestsarereimbursedat$3.50persample. Milk samples must be collected by a third party verifier,suchasaveterinarianoraDHIAofficialtester.

Humane complaintsThe BOAH continues to respond to complaints of inhu-mane treatment of animals. All complaints received are investigated,eitherbyalocallawenforcementofficial,staffveterinarian,orcontractedaccreditedveterinarian.

Supplies availableThefollowingsuppliesareobtainedfromthestateoffice:

•Brucellosisvaccinationtags

•OfficialUSDAsilvertags

•NorthDakotahealthcertificatebooks

The following supplies are obtained from the USDA-APHISVeterinaryServiceoffice:

•Scrapietags

•Tuberculin

•EIAforms

•TBandbrucellosistestcharts

•Brucellosisvaccinationcertificates

•Smallanimalhealthcertificates

Questions regarding the Johne’s disease program should be directedtoDr.JesseVollmerat(701)328-2612orKim-berlySpearat(701)328-2350.

ScrapieThemostrecentscrapieflockinvestigationinNorthDa-kotawascompletedinAugust2007,andthestateisnowbeing asked to increase on-farm and market surveillance. LimitedfundsareavailablethroughMarch31,2014tocompensate producers submitting samples. Producers with sheep that may qualify should contact Dr. Beth Carlson at (701)328-2655.

Limited cooperative agreement funds are also available for genotyping. Producers and/or veterinarians who are interested in participating should contact Dr. Beth Carlson at(701)328-2655formoreinformationandtoobtainap-provalandtheappropriateforms.Inthepast,severalpro-ducers have not been paid or had their payments delayed because the veterinarian did not use the appropriate forms ordidnotfilltheformsoutcorrectly.TheveterinarianmustuseaVSform5-29(availablefromfederalorstateoffices),andsheepmustbeidentifiedusingascrapietag.

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Animal Health News North Dakota State Board of Animal HealthNorth Dakota Department of Agriculture600 E. Boulevard Ave., Dept. 602Bismarck, ND 58505-0020

Responding to the mandatory evacuations in Minot caused by the flooding of the Souris River, the Souris Valley Humane Society, assisted by volunteers, extension personnel and local veterinarians, are maintaining an emergency pet shelter at the North Dakota State University North Central Research Extension Center, south of the city. Noah’s Wish, a national sheltering group, sent a volunteer to assist the shelter manager. As of July 1, more than 500 pets were being cared for at the emergency shelter.

Minot shelter established for evacuated pets